Battle of Da Nang Airbase

The Battle of Da Nang Airbase occurred in 1970 during the Vietnam War, when the US Army launched a massive assault on the Da Nang Airbase in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam and captured it from the Viet Cong.

While Quang Nam Province was officially in neutral hands by 1970, Da Nang Airbase was solidly under Viet Cong control, and the US assault would have to break through every defensive layer of the airbase. The battle began with a US assault on the blockhouse adjacent to the airstrip, and the Americans overwhelmed the Viet Cong fighters in close-quarters combat, securing control of the first bastion of defense after some claustrophobic fighting. The Americans then advanced across a boneyard of destroyed aircraft, where Viet Cong snipers had a field day picking off advancing Americans. The Americans eventually secured the mortar pits, pushing their front line up to the paths entering the base. The Americans preceded to launch a series of attacks on the Bravo Revetments and the Tent City, and they changed hands several times. The American infantry swarmed the Bravo Revetments as air support was called in to soften the defenses of the Tent City, and, after incredibly fierce fighting, both checkpoints were captured. Soon, the fuel tanks in the northeast of the base were secured, leaving only the Alpha Revetments in Viet Cong hands. The American command was close to running out of patience, but, at the last second, the Americans succeeded in securing the Alpha Revetments, decisively turning the tide of battle and fully securing the base. Quang Nam Province was now firmly under US control, and the exhausted Americans decided to send in the Australians to take Phu Yen in Operation Wallaby.